Look at all these powders!
I’m a mad scientist! [not really]
My head was in the clouds when I was making these oats. The amount of cocoa powder was nearly double what I ordinarily use, which made it the color of…well…tar. I tried to balance it out by adding more oats, which made it look like chocolate at least, but resulted in a pretty monstrous breakfast. Then I went and increased it’s volume even more by adding some protein powder.
I don’t know who makes it, what’s in it, or where it’s from because my sister gave me the tupperwared sample to try out. That sounds shady, huh. She’s a trainer, so I don’t think she’s trying to drug me. Plus she’s got food sensitivities too, so I know it’s dairy free.
*Edited to add* The sample is vegan vanilla protein powder from Arbonne (which I think is a Canadian company?). Despite some internet searching, I have yet to find the powder’s ingredients so if you know it please share. I want to be sure it isn’t sweetened with fructose before I try a larger amount.
The final product tasted like a chocolate brownie. Not too bad for a breakfast dessert.
The rest of the lunch crew.
Spinach, forbidden rice, seitan, and Bragg’s liquid aminos on top.
I studied the ingredient list for this Clif MoJo Mountain Mix bar forever. It’s long, that’s for sure, but it’s partially-redeemed by the fact that it’s organic. Fructose is my deal breaker.* So although the bar has processed soy protein isolate (from the soy rice chips), which I didn’t like, the sources of sweetener were brown rice syrup, oat syrup and chocolate chips, which works for me. *For more details on why see this site.
Other goodies included candied ginger, dark chocolate kisses, banana, and carrots.
And why not round out the WIAW nature of this post with dinner…
Quinoa quiche (this version made in a pie pan) with a side of peas.
I had this granola for dessert.
What’s your ingredient list deal breaker?
It’s hard to find the time to make things as opposed to buy them…from bread, to seitan, to nut butters, to health bars…it gets exhausting. However, budget and GI woes are huge factors in why I spend my days off in the kitchen. Plus I love cooking. And eating. The fact of the matter is, I have been feeling way better since following a low FODMAPs diet and knowing exactly what’s in my food is what makes it possible.
PS Low FODMAPs update here. <– last night’s live #fodmap twitter chat recapped
PPS Giveaway here. <– you have until tomorrow to enter!
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Anything hydrogenated is a deal breaker for me. I also try to stay away from corn syrup in non-treat foods like ketchup, tomato soup, and dried fruits. It’s kind of annoying when they unnecessarily add these to food!
Thats shady that they don’t list the ingredients for the Arbonne shake. Arbonne is big where I live. People do Arbonne house parties like tupperware parties.
haha, thats hilarious!
ps i emailed the company and they are going to respond w an ingredient list.
I do know they make mostly vegan products (skincare) etc, so I would think that the powder is vegan, but not sure of the fructose content…
I’m pretty diligent with my label reading and agree with most of yours in terms of keeping things natural and the list short, but anything with soy is strictly forbidden. Even a few soy crisps will send me into intestinal hell, as will coffee, so I have to keep an eye out for that.
It is strange how weirdly obsessed you are with these strange ingredients in food, yet you really aren’t in very good shape.
Whaaa? This comment is pretty strange. I think Elise is in *great* shape.
That was really mean! And not necessary considering it’s her blog and she is entitled to post accordingly.
im so confused by this comment too! I would seriously trade my body for Elise’s any day…and being an athlete my whole life, I consider myself to be in good shape.
And for what it’s worth, what would it matter what her body looked like? Educated people make educated decisions about their health–including food choices–so that they can be healthy and environmentally responsible, not so they can look like a supermodel.
The end.
so well said!
if you have a problem with her posts, why do you read? grow up. don’t judge.
i also think elise is in fabulous shape!
This sounds stupid and SO unscientific, but I try to stay away from anything that includes some normal-ish food, x, followed by the word ‘solids’. I don’t really do the dairy thing, but a good example is milk solids. Just grosses me out.
I also try not to purchase any candy that has as its first ingredient HFCS. I don’t buy much candy, but sometimes Red Vines just reallllllly hit the spot, and it’s hard to find licorice without HFCS as the first or second ingredient. BUT ALL THIS CHANGED YESTERDAY! I found a new kind licorice at Whole Paycheck and gosh, it is the best I’ve ever had. First ingredient on the list? Beet Syrup. Yum.
hooray! i bet the beet syrup also saves you from faux coloring chemicals later down the ingredient list too – win win!
I recently found out I have a corn allergy so label reading has become important. Corn starch, malodextrin, baking powder. The list goes on and on!
dont i know it – maltodextrin and malt derived ingredients are in EVERYTHING! i have to watch for those too because the malt is a source of fructose (a FODMAP food) that i need to limit myself.
the corn and soy industries have completely monopolized processed foods, so its basically impossible to avoid them.
My biggest deal breakers are gluten, white sugar and soy because I can’t eat them at all! And anything like hydrogenated vegetable oil or things I just don’t understand… I like to know what I’m eating.
A deal breaker for me is any kind of dairy – so yogurt, milk proteins or milk deriviaties, whey or whey protein – I cannot eat those without really bringing on a bad bout of eczema – it is actually quite challenging and restrictive – because I also can’t eat soy in large quantities, or tomato based sauces, for the same reason. Grrrr!
I love reading your blog though because you truly do inspire me with your homemade food, and amazing packed eats! <3 xyx
Any animal products or by-products are deal breakers for me, but that aside, I avoid anything with the words hydrogenated. Also anything that isn’t an added vitamin, but sounds like “hydra-tetra-phosphate-cyclomide” Haha – you know those crazy chemicals!
here’s a link i found…not sure if you’ve already seen it.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/323403-arbonne-protein-shake-ingredients/
oh here’s a list of ingredients for the protein powder you’re looking for:
http://www.arbonnemarketing.com/PK/dl/pk/1970_us_eng.pdf
Haha I just found that one too. Fructose is listed as a sweetener so I guess small quantities will be neccessary. It sucks when you find products that are perfect nutritionally and taste great but then they add in that ONE ingredient that kills you. For me – inulin.
Malitol is a big one for me. Kills my stomach. Sorbitol too.
I try hard to make most of my food these days…which is a whole lot easier without a full time job.
Any kind of fake sweeteners tear my belly to shreds, so I steer clear.
I try to stick with foods that have an ingredient list that I can pronounce, I try to avoid palm oils and also fructose. My husband LOVES (truly hates) going grocery shopping with me as I read nearly every label before putting it in the cart:)
I do the same thing! It’s like a 2 hour excursion!
My number one deal breaker is high fructose corn syrup. I avoid fake sweeteners, too. Since I’m a vegetarian, I hate finding out that something has gelatin in it, or chicken stock, so those are obviously huge deal breakers. I try to avoid anything that’s too synthetic.
Eggs gross me out. Anything with eggs is a deal breaker. I am surprised to see you eat eggs. That’s so gross. Think about what they are.
cute kisses! hahahaha i had to
Hi Elise,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, and want to say I love seeing your packed foods for work, as I’m in a similar situation and have to pack foods for the whole day – great inspiration! (:
For me HFCS is a big one, I’m lucky where I don’t react to anything particularly (used to have very bad IBS so enjoying seeing your progress with FODMAPS!), so I just try to keep it as natural as possible. It annoys me where companies add in so many unnecessary unnatural ingredients, and where things have four or more different types of sugar just seems crazy!
haha love that breakfast-making technique. as long as it ended up tasting like a brownie, it’s all good!
I have quite a few deal breakers, but you know what’s weird? I’ve slowly realized that I don’t love parsley! I was picking it off and it occurred to me that sometimes it makes me gag. Who knew?
Anything chemical is a deal breaker..yet there are products I still buy even though I know it’s not best for me! Like kraft light peanut butter…can’t live without it.
Have you ever tried kamut flour? Its kind of sweet. I got some recently and mix it in peanut flour and oats. Its a good thicker and adds texture to things.
HFCS and isolated soy protein are deal breakers for me. As well as meat and dairy!
Here is the Vanilla Protein Shake ingredient list. I know someone who is an Arbonne Consultant. They sell skin and body care products.
Supplement Facts
Serving Size 2 scoops (42 g Servings Per Container 30
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value†
Calories 160
Calories from Fat 35
Total Fat 3.5 g 6%
Saturated fat 0g 0%
Trans fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 13 g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Soluble fiber 1 g
Insoluble fiber 0 g Sugars 9g
Protein 20 g Vitamin A (as retinyl palmitate) 620 IU 12% Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) 9 mg 15% Vitamin D (as ergocalciferol) 50 IU 15% Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl acetate) 5 IU 16% Thiamin (as thiamin hydrochloride) 0.22 mg 15% Riboflavin 0.25 mg 15% Niacin (as niacinamide) 3 mg 15% Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride) 0.3 mg 15% Folate (as folic acid) 61 mcg 15% Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) 1 mcg 17% Biotin 25 mcg 8% Pantothenic Acid (as d-calcium pantohydrate) 1.7 mg 17% Calcium (as calcium carbonate) 153 mg 15% Iodine (as potassium iodide) 23 mcg 15% Magnesium (as magnesium oxide) 61 mg 15% Zinc (as zinc oxide) 2 mg 13% Selenium (as sodium selenate) 11mcg 16% Copper (as copper sulfate) 0.3 mg 15% Manganese (as manganese sulfate) 0.3 mg 15% Chromium (as chromium chloride) 18 mcg 15% Molybdenum (as sodium molybdate) 11mcg 15% Sodium (as sodium chloride and sodium citrate) 390 mg 16%
Potassium (as potassium citrate)
130 mg 4%
Stevia (leaf) extract (95% Steviosides) 176 mg **
InneR G-PleX 37.5 mg ** Coenzyme Q10, Alfalfa (leaf) powder, Kelp powder, Ginseng (root) powder arbonne Protein Matrix Blend 20 g ** Pea Protein, Cranberry Protein, Rice Protein
†Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. **Daily Value not established.
thanks yalanda!
I just started the low FODMAP’s diet (loosely, I’m waiting to see a dietician for advice before I go all out) and consequently discovered your blog. I am loving it.
I have IBS also and for years have known that I react to pizza (but I never knew what in it) and fructose. Just about all fruits were out of the question and even 6 strawberries in a smoothie tends to send me into all kinds of miserableness. I think the final straw for me was when I made a coconut milk ice cream using pure granulated fructose as the sweetener (I’m sure you know how that one went!) so I guess fructose is probably going to be my biggest problem additive and a definite deal breaker.
I’m so glad I found your blog. It’s going to be very helpful (plus it’s always nice to know you’re not alone).
hi amy! so happy you found me. i can totally relate to your IBS confusion. fructose (and other carbohydrate) sensitivities are such a random thing to have and yet it seems there are so many of us, so maybe its just education about identifying it in patients that needs to improve. anyway, i hope you continue to read and share your trials with me so we can both learn about this fodmaps stuff. if you didnt already see, ive started another blog just for fodmaps diet info (theres a link on the upper right corner of the sidebar, but its http://www.fodmapsdiet.com)
thanks for commenting – youre right, its nice not to feel alone in this.
Thanks
I actually found it first I think (either way, I’m subscribed to both now…won’t miss anything 
).
And yes, the whole thing is really confusing! No doctor or specialist I ever saw (and I saw a lot) ever mentioned FODMAPS to me. I did an elimination diet, but it was full of pears and other foods that aren’t meant to be eaten. As you can imagine, I had no success. Hopefully the word will keep getting out there and more of us can be helped.
yeah. i have always done similar back-to-basics phases when my gut is acting up, but like you, they always included apples and clearly that wasnt the right way of doing it at all…now i know. hopefully i will continue to sort it out for us all
Also on the label for Arbonne’s Vanilla Protein Shake Mix (I’m looking at it right now), it states:
OTHER INGREDIENTS: Fructose, sugar cane, natural vanilla flavor, sunflower oil, canola oil, cornstarch, soy lecithin, inulin, flax seed, cellulose gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan.
such a bummer because even though i only sampled a small amount i still felt ok after. i may trial and error with it in small quantities to see what my trigger level is for symptoms…when i have a few days off
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